Dr. Mogell Dental Blog

Boca Raton Cosmetic Dentist

Put Out The Light - Tips To Get To Sleep

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Since I treat so many patients with sleep breathing disorders like obstructive sleep apnea, I spend a lot of time talking to people about sleep.

Not surprisingly, lots of people have problems getting to sleep or staying asleep. What can you do at home, without drugs, to help?

Did you know that the color of the light around you affects your melatonin production? True - red light helps promote the production of this essential sleep hormone and blue light suppresses it. The big problem in modern life is that we are surrounded by blue light.

Do you read on your tablet computer before sleep? Blue light right in your face. Do you check Facebook one last time before lights out? Again, blue light in your face.

Watching TV before sleeping is no better - it is another source of blue light. The best thing to do before bed is read a good, old fashioned book made from dead trees!

Check the bulbs in the lamps next to your bed - some light bulbs offer more light in the red spectrum and some (cool white) offer more blue light. Also look at all of the LED displays in your bedroom. There is probably a light on the cable box, one on the TV, another on the alarm clock, and they are all probably blue! A small piece of electrical tape can solve that problem.

If you feel very sleepy during the day but got a full night of sleep the night before, it may be time to be checked for a sleep disorder. Contact us today at 561-394-9000 to schedule a consultation.

Labels: sleep apnea